I read the diary that's currently on the rec list regarding America's military fetish.
And I was saddened. Not just by the diary itself (written by someone much younger than myself), but clearly written from the perspective of someone who hasn't served.
I stayed out of the comments. But I feel I must say something...
This will be short.
I served in the U.S. Navy at a time when military service was not exactly the career path of choice for people my age. I don't know if I enlisted out of a sense of duty, or to avoid landing in the Army via the draft (my number was pretty low). But, enlist I did.
I have always been anti-war. The mission of the ships I served on during the cold war (and make no mistake about it, Vietnam was a proxy war during the cold war) was to maintain the balance of power between a nuclear armed Soviet Union and a nuclear armed United States. Hell, my first bunk was almost within arms reach of a nuclear weapon. Most of the men I served with were anti-war. I'd hazard a guess that most foot soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are anti-war.
Watching the Spike repeat of "Band of Brothers" this afternoon has reminded me of what I gained from my service. This coming August, I'll be attending a reunion of the men I served with on my first ship.
We all had a sense of not wanting to be there. "FTN" was regular graffiti that I had to scrub off of the walls of the heads when I was a newbie. None of us wanted to leave our families, our wives, our girlfriends...but when it was time to weigh anchor, we did.
My last true deployment wasn't an easy one. I was on watch when our submarine collided with an underwater sea mount (at least, that's the official story). I still dream about that event, 30+ years later. A lot of my shipmates were hurt, some rather badly, but fortunately no one was killed.
We took that submarine to places we had no business being, and were chased a couple of times. Every call to battle stations was heart pounding; every standdown was met with a sigh of relief. One torpedo shot in those places, and we'd all still be listed as missing in action.
I'm proud of my service. I still wear the belt buckle from my first ship on a daily basis. It's hard to read a diary such as is on the rec list right now, and not feel a bit of anger that it was written (well intentioned or not) by someone who hasn't served.
I'm a liberal. Or progressive. Call me what you want. I was one of the first people calling bullshit on the Bush regime's post-9/11 military reaction.
And I want to be clear about something: I understand that most of the modern day U.S. military engagements happened in large part due to the profit potential. I'm not a dunce.
Still, at the end of the day, I'm a Vietnam era veteran of the U.S. Navy, and damned proud of it. When I watch the repeat of Band of Brothers, I'm reminded of the lifetime links forged during my service.
I fully understand those who haven't served being able to take a dispassionate view of our current military engagements, and analyze the reasons for those engagements. I am as disappointed as anyone that President Obama has pretty much maintained the status quo in the two active theaters.
But, day-um. This is not the day to be coming down on and taking a proxy shot at the men and women who have chosen their military vocation, by taking on the MIC that puts them in harm's way.
I'm sad after reading what I'm sure was a well intentioned diary on the rec list. This wasn't the day to piss on my parade, despite the disclaimers.
Thanks for letting me speak my peace.